Semiconductor package

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor package includes a frame having a first through-hole, a semiconductor chip disposed on the first through-hole an having an active surface on which a connection pad is disposed and an inactive surface, a first encapsulant covering at least a portion of the inactive surface and a side surface of the semiconductor chip, a connection structure disposed on the active surface of the semiconductor chip and including a redistribution layer electrically connected to the connection pad of the semiconductor chip and a ground pattern layer, a side surface cover layer covering at least an outer side surface of the frame, and a metal layer disposed on the upper surface of the first encapsulant and extending downwardly along the side surface cover layer to cover the side surface cover layer and a portion of the side surface of the connection structure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2018-0117696 filed on Oct. 2, 2018 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor package, for example,to a fan-out semiconductor package.

BACKGROUND

As electronic products become smaller and higher in performance, thedistance between components becomes closer and operating speeds aregreatly increased. As a result, a problem of malfunctioning of thedevice due to electromagnetic wave interference between components hasbeen a problem. Thus, recently, interest in electromagnetic waveshielding technologies has been growing. In the case of smartphones,electromagnetic wave shielding technology has only been applied to somechips, such as an initial communication chip. However, recently, theapplication of electromagnetic wave shielding technology has beenexpanded to AP, RF chips, and the like.

As an electromagnetic wave shielding technology, a metal can structureor a deposition method such as sputtering is mainly used. When adeposition method such as sputtering is used, a process is complicatedby forming an EMI shielding layer after singulation of a semiconductorpackage, and it may be difficult to secure deposition coverage on aportion on which a glass fiber or a ceramic filler is present.Therefore, it may be more difficult to secure coverage of the EMIshielding layer on a side surface than on an upper surface of thepackage.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a semiconductorpackage with improved lateral shielding performance.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a semiconductorpackage may be provided, in which a coating layer is formed on a sidesurface and then an EMI shielding layer is formed.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a semiconductorpackage may include: a frame having a first through-hole; asemiconductor chip disposed in the first through-hole of the frame, andhaving an active surface on which a connection pad is disposed and aninactive surface opposing the active surface; a first encapsulantcovering at least a portion of each of the inactive surface and a sidesurface of the semiconductor chip; a connection structure disposed onthe active surface of the semiconductor chip, and including aredistribution layer electrically connected to the connection pad of thesemiconductor chip and a ground pattern layer; a side surface coverlayer covering at least an outer side surface of the frame at aperiphery of the frame; and a metal layer disposed on an upper surfaceof the first encapsulant, and extending downwardly from the uppersurface of the first encapsulant along the side surface cover layer tocover the side surface cover layer and a portion of a side surface ofthe connection structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of anelectronic device system;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an electronicdevice;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic cross-sectional views of a state a fan-insemiconductor package before and after being packaged, respectively;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a packagingprocess of a fan-in semiconductor package;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whicha fan-in semiconductor package is mounted on an interposer substrate andis ultimately mounted on a mainboard of an electronic device;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whicha fan-in semiconductor package is embedded in an interposer substrateand is ultimately mounted on a mainboard of an electronic device;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a fan-outsemiconductor package;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whicha fan-out semiconductor package is mounted on a mainboard of anelectronic device;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of asemiconductor package;

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view taken along line I-I′ of thesemiconductor package of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof a semiconductor package;

FIGS. 12A to 12C are schematic process drawings illustrating amanufacturing example of the semiconductor package of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof a semiconductor package;

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof a semiconductor package; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view illustrating an effect in a case inwhich the semiconductor package according to the present disclosure isapplied to an electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described asfollows with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, sizesand shapes of elements will be exaggerated or reduced for cleardescription.

The present disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many differentforms and should not be construed as being limited to the specificembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification, it will be understood that when anelement, such as a layer, region or wafer (substrate), is referred to asbeing “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it can bedirectly “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” the other element orother elements intervening therebetween may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directlyconnected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element, there may be noelements or layers intervening therebetween. Like numerals refer to likeelements throughout. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any andall combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be apparent that though the terms first, second, third, etc. maybe used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layersand/or sections, these members, components, regions, layers and/orsections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one member, component, region, layer or section fromanother region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component,region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a secondmember, component, region, layer or section without departing from theteachings of the exemplary embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” and “lower”and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe oneelement's relationship to another element(s) as shown in the figures. Itwill be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or operation inaddition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if thedevice in the figures is turned over, elements described as “above,” or“upper” other elements would then be oriented “below,” or “lower” theother elements or features. Thus, the term “above” can encompass boththe above and below orientations depending on a particular direction ofthe figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees orat other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may be interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein describes particular embodiments only, andthe present disclosure is not limited thereby. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” and/or “comprising”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/or groupsthereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/orgroups thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to schematic views illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In the drawings, for example, due to manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances, modifications of the shape shown may beestimated. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure should not beconstrued as being limited to the particular shapes of regions shownherein, for example, to include a change in shape results inmanufacturing. The following embodiments may also be constituted by oneor a combination thereof.

The contents of the present disclosure described below may have avariety of configurations and propose only a required configurationherein, but are not limited thereto.

Electronic Device

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment ofelectronic device system.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 1000 may accommodate amainboard 1010 therein. The mainboard 1010 may include chip relatedcomponents 1020, network related components 1030, and other components1040, and the like, physically and/or electrically connected. Thesecomponents may be connected to others to be described below to formvarious signal lines 1090.

The chip related components 1020 may include a memory chip such as avolatile memory (for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), anon-volatile memory (for example, a read only memory (ROM)), a flashmemory, or the like; an application processor chip such as a centralprocessor (for example, a central processing unit (CPU)), a graphicsprocessor (for example, a graphics processing unit (GPU)), a digitalsignal processor, a cryptographic processor, a microprocessor, amicrocontroller, or the like; and a logic chip such as ananalog-to-digital (ADC) converter, an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or the like. However, the chip related components 1020are not limited thereto, but may also include other types of chiprelated components. In addition, the chip related components 1020 may becombined with each other.

The network related components 1030 may include protocols such aswireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) (Institute of Electrical And ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 family, or the like), worldwide interoperabilityfor microwave access (WiMAX) (IEEE 802.16 family, or the like), IEEE802.20, long term evolution (LTE), evolution data only (Ev-DO), highspeed packet access+(HSPA+), high speed downlink packet access+(HSDPA+),high speed uplink packet access+(HSUPA+), enhanced data GSM environment(EDGE), global system for mobile communications (GSM), globalpositioning system (GPS), general packet radio service (GPRS), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), Bluetooth, 3G, 4G,and 5G protocols, and any other wireless and wired protocols, designatedafter the abovementioned protocols. However, the network relatedcomponents 1030 are not limited thereto, but may also include a varietyof other wireless or wired standards or protocols. In addition, thenetwork related components 1030 may be combined with each other,together with the chip related components 1020 described above.

Other components 1040 may include a high frequency inductor, a ferriteinductor, a power inductor, ferrite beads, a low temperature co-firedceramic (LTCC), an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter, amultilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), or the like. However, othercomponents 1040 are not limited thereto, but may also include passivecomponents used for various other purposes, or the like. In addition,other components 1040 may be combined with each other, together with thechip related components 1020 or the network related components 1030described above.

Depending on a type of the electronic device 1000, the electronic device1000 may include other components that may or may not be physically orelectrically connected to the mainboard 1010. These other components mayinclude, for example, a camera module 1050, an antenna 1060, a displaydevice 1070, a battery 1080, an audio codec (not illustrated), a videocodec (not illustrated), a power amplifier (not illustrated), a compass(not illustrated), an accelerometer (not illustrated), a gyroscope (notillustrated), a speaker (not illustrated), a mass storage unit (forexample, a hard disk drive) (not illustrated), a compact disk (CD) drive(not illustrated), a digital versatile disk (DVD) drive (notillustrated), or the like. However, these other components are notlimited thereto, but may also include other components used for variouspurposes depending on a type of electronic device 1000, or the like.

The electronic device 1000 may be a smartphone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a digital video camera, a digital still camera, anetwork system, a computer, a monitor, a tablet PC, a laptop PC, anetbook PC, a television, a video game machine, a smartwatch, anautomotive component, or the like. However, the electronic device 1000is not limited thereto, but may be any other electronic deviceprocessing data.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of anelectronic device.

Referring to FIG. 2, a semiconductor package may be used for variouspurposes in the various electronic devices 1000 as described above. Forexample, a motherboard 1110 may be accommodated in a body 1101 of asmartphone 1100, and various electronic components 1120 may bephysically or electrically connected to the motherboard 1110. Inaddition, other components that may or may not be physically orelectrically connected to the mainboard 1010, such as a camera module1130, may be accommodated in the body 1101. Some of the electroniccomponents 1120 may be the chip related components, and thesemiconductor package 100 may be, for example, an application processoramong the chip related components, but is not limited thereto. Theelectronic device is not necessarily limited to the smartphone 1100, butmay be other electronic devices as described above.

Semiconductor Package

Generally, numerous fine electrical circuits are integrated in asemiconductor chip. However, the semiconductor chip may not serve as asemiconductor finished product in oneself, and may be damaged due toexternal physical or chemical impact. Therefore, the semiconductor chipis not used in oneself, and is packaged and is used in an electronicdevice, or the like, in a package state.

The reason why semiconductor packaging is required is that there is adifference in a circuit width between the semiconductor chip and amainboard of the electronic device in terms of electrical connection. Indetail, a size of connection pads of the semiconductor chip and aninterval between the connection pads of the semiconductor chip are veryfine, but a size of component mounting pads of the mainboard used in theelectronic device and an interval between the component mounting pads ofthe mainboard are significantly larger than those of the semiconductorchip. Therefore, it may be difficult to directly mount the semiconductorchip on the mainboard, and packaging technology for buffering adifference in a circuit width between the semiconductor and themainboard is required.

A semiconductor package manufactured by the packaging technology may beclassified as a fan-in semiconductor package or a fan-out semiconductorpackage depending on a structure and a purpose thereof.

The fan-in semiconductor package and the fan-out semiconductor packagewill hereinafter be described in more detail with reference to thedrawings.

Fan-In Semiconductor Package

FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating a state of afan-in semiconductor package before and after being packaged,respectively.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a packaging process of afan-in semiconductor package.

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 4, a semiconductor chip 2220 may be, forexample, an integrated circuit (IC) in a bare state, including a body2221 including silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), gallium arsenide (GaAs), orthe like, connection pads 2222 formed on one surface of the body 2221and including a conductive material such as aluminum (Al), or the like,and a passivation layer 2223 such as an oxide layer, a nitride layer, orthe like, formed on one surface of the body 2221 and covering at least aportion of the connection pads 2222. In this case, since the connectionpads 2222 may be significantly small, it may be difficult to mount theintegrated circuit (IC) on an intermediate level printed circuit board(PCB) as well as on a mainboard of an electronic device, and the like.

Accordingly, to redistribute the connection pads 2222, a connectionstructure 2240 may be formed in accordance with a size of thesemiconductor chip 2220 on the semiconductor chip 2220. The connectionstructure 2240 may be formed by forming an insulating layer 2241 on thesemiconductor chip 2220 using an insulation material such as aphotoimagable dielectric (PID) insulation material, forming a via hole2243 h opening the connection pads 2222, and forming wiring patterns2242 and vias 2243. Then, a passivation layer 2250 protecting theconnection structure 2240 may be formed, an opening 2251 may be formed,and an underbump metal layer 2260, and the like, may be formed. Thus, afan-in semiconductor package 2200 including, for example, thesemiconductor chip 2220, the connection structure 2240, the passivationlayer 2250, and the underbump metal layer 2260 may be manufacturedthrough a series of processes.

As described above, the fan-in semiconductor package may have a packageform in which all of the connection pads of the semiconductor chip, suchas input/output (I/O) terminals, are disposed inside the semiconductorchip, and may have excellent electrical properties and be produced at arelatively low cost. Therefore, many elements mounted in smartphoneshave been manufactured in a fan-in semiconductor package form.Specifically, many elements mounted in smartphones have been developedto implement a rapid signal transfer while having a compact size.

However, since all I/O terminals need to be disposed inside thesemiconductor chip in the fan-in semiconductor package, the fan-insemiconductor package has significant spatial limitations. Therefore, itis difficult to apply this structure to a semiconductor chip having alarge number of I/O terminals or a semiconductor chip of a compact size.In addition, due to the disadvantage as above, the fan-in semiconductorpackage may not be directly mounted and used on the mainboard of theelectronic device. The reason is that even in the case in which a sizeof the I/O terminals of the semiconductor chip and an interval betweenthe I/O terminals of the semiconductor chip are increased by aredistribution process, the size of the I/O terminals of thesemiconductor chip and the interval between the I/O terminals may not besufficient to directly mount the fan-in electronic component package onthe mainboard of the electronic device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whicha fan-in semiconductor package is mounted on an interposer substrate andis ultimately mounted on a mainboard of an electronic device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a case in whicha fan-in semiconductor package is embedded in an interposer substrateand is ultimately mounted on a mainboard of an electronic device.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, in a fan-in semiconductor package 2200,connection pads 2222, that is, I/O terminals, of a semiconductor chip2220 may be redistributed through an interposer substrate 2301, and thefan-in semiconductor package 2200 may be ultimately mounted on amainboard 2500 of an electronic device in a state in which the fan-insemiconductor package 2200 is mounted on the interposer substrate 2301.In this case, solder balls 2270, and the like, may be fixed by anunderfill resin 2280, or the like, and an outer side of thesemiconductor chip 2220 may be covered with a molding material 2290, orthe like. Alternatively, a fan-in semiconductor package 2200 may beembedded in a separate interposer substrate 2302, connection pads 2222,I/O terminals, of the semiconductor chip 2220 may be redistributed bythe interposer substrate 2302 in a state in which the fan-insemiconductor package 2200 is embedded in the interposer substrate 2302,and the fan-in semiconductor package 2200 may be ultimately mounted on amainboard 2500 of an electronic device.

As described above, it may be difficult to directly mount and use thefan-in semiconductor package on the mainboard of the electronic device.Thus, the fan-in semiconductor package may be mounted on the separateinterposer substrate and then mounted on the mainboard of the electronicdevice after going through a packaging process again, or may be mountedand used on the mainboard of the electronic device in a state in whichit is embedded in the interposer substrate.

Fan-Out Semiconductor Package

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a fan-outsemiconductor package.

Referring to FIG. 7, in a fan-out semiconductor package 2100, an outerside of a semiconductor chip 2120 may be protected by an encapsulant2130, for example, and connection pads 2122 of the semiconductor chip2120 may be redistributed outwardly of the semiconductor chip 2120 by aconnection structure 2140. In this case, a passivation layer 2202 mayfurther be formed on the connection structure 2140, and an underbumpmetal layer 2160 may further be formed in openings of the passivationlayer 2202. Solder balls 2170 may further be formed on the underbumpmetal layer 2160. The semiconductor chip 2120 may be an integratedcircuit (IC) including a body 2121, the connection pads 2122, apassivation layer (not illustrated), and the like. The connectionstructure 2140 may include an insulating layer 2141, redistributionlayers 2142 formed on the insulating layer 2141, and vias 2143electrically connecting the connection pads 2122 and the redistributionlayers 2142 to each other.

As described above, the fan-out semiconductor package may have a form inwhich I/O terminals are redistributed and disposed up to an externalportion of the semiconductor chip through the connection structureformed on the semiconductor chip. As described above, in the fan-insemiconductor package, as all I/O terminals of the semiconductor chipneed to be disposed inside the semiconductor chip, a size of thesemiconductor chip is decreased, and a size and a pitch of balls need tobe decreased as well. Accordingly, it may not be possible to use astandardized ball layout in the fan-in semiconductor package. On theother hand, the fan-out semiconductor package has the form in which theI/O terminals of the semiconductor chip are redistributed and disposedup to an external portion of the semiconductor chip through theconnection structure formed on the semiconductor chip as describedabove. Therefore, even in a case in which a size of the semiconductorchip is decreased, a standardized ball layout may be used in the fan-outsemiconductor package as it is, such that the fan-out semiconductorpackage may be mounted on the mainboard of the electronic device withoutusing a separate printed circuit board, as described below.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a case in which a fan-outsemiconductor package is mounted on a mainboard of an electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 8, a fan-out semiconductor package 2100 may be mountedon a mainboard 2500 of an electronic device through solder balls 2170,and the like. In other words, as described above, as the fan-outsemiconductor package 2100 includes the connection structure 2140capable of redistributing the connection pads 2122 up to a fan-outregion that is beyond a size of the semiconductor chip 2120 on thesemiconductor chip 2120, the standardized ball layout may be used in thefan-out semiconductor package 2100 as it is. As a result, the fan-outsemiconductor package 2100 may be mounted on the mainboard 2500 of theelectronic device without using a separate interposer substrate, or thelike.

As described above, since the fan-out semiconductor package may bemounted on the mainboard of the electronic device without using aseparate interposer substrate, the fan-out semiconductor package may beimplemented to have a thickness lower than that of the fan-insemiconductor package using the interposer substrate. Therefore, thefan-out semiconductor package may be miniaturized and thinned. Inaddition, the fan-out semiconductor package has excellent thermalcharacteristics and electrical characteristics, such that it isparticularly appropriate for a mobile product. Therefore, the fan-outelectronic component package may be implemented in a more compact formthan that of a general package-on-package (POP) type using a printedcircuit board (PCB), and may solve a problem caused by a warpagephenomenon.

Meanwhile, the fan-out semiconductor package refers to packagetechnology for mounting the semiconductor chip on the mainboard of theelectronic device, or the like, as described above, and protecting thesemiconductor chip from external impacts. The fan-out semiconductorpackage is a concept different from that of a printed circuit board(PCB) such as an interposer substrate, or the like, having a scale, apurpose, and the like, different from those of the fan-out semiconductorpackage, and having the fan-in semiconductor package embedded therein.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor package including a metal layer forshielding electromagnetic waves having an excellent side surfacecovering force will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of asemiconductor package.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view taken along line I-I′ of thesemiconductor package of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a semiconductor package 100A according toan example may include a frame 110 having first through-holes 110HA1 and110HA2 and a second through-hole 110HB, at least one passive component125 a and at least one passive component 125 b disposed in the firstthrough-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2 of the frame 110, a semiconductor chip120 disposed in the second through-hole 110HB of the frame 110, andhaving an active surface on which the connection pad 122 is disposed,and an inactive surface opposing the active surface, a first encapsulant130 a encapsulating at least portions of the frame 110 and the passivecomponents 125 a and 125 b, a second encapsulant 130 b encapsulating atleast portions of the frame 110 and the semiconductor chip 120, aconnection structure 140 disposed on the frame 110, lower surfaces ofthe passive components 125 a and 125 b, and the active surface of thesemiconductor chip 120, and including a ground pattern layer 142G, apassivation layer 150 disposed on the connection structure 140, anunderbump metal layer 160 disposed on an opening of the passivationlayer 150, an electrical connection metal 170 disposed on thepassivation layer 150 and connected to the underbump metal layer 160, aside surface cover layer 180 covering an outer side surface of the frame110 at a periphery of the frame 110, and a metal layer 190 disposed onan upper surface of the second encapsulant 130 b, extending downwardlyfrom the upper surface of the second encapsulant 130 b along the sidesurface cover layer 180 to cover the side surface cover layer 180, andcovering a portion of the side surface of the connection structure 140.

The side surface cover layer 180 may cover an outer side surface of theframe 110, an upper end of the side surface cover layer 180 may coverthe outer side surface of the second encapsulant 130 b, and a lower endof the side surface cover layer 180 may cover a portion of theconnection structure 140. The side surface cover layer 180 may extendonly to an upper portion above the ground pattern layer 142G, which is awiring layer to which a ground signal is applied in the connectionstructure 140. Therefore, an outer side surface of the ground patternlayer 142G may be covered by a metal layer 190 in a lower portion of theside surface cover layer 180 and may be directly connected to the metallayer 190.

The metal layer 190 may be disposed outside of the package to form aportion of the upper surface and the side surface of the semiconductorpackage 100A. The metal layer 190 may cover the upper surface of thesecond encapsulant 130 b, and may extend downwardly while covering theside surface cover layer 180 along the outer side surface of thesemiconductor package 100A. The metal layer 190 may cover at least aportion of the side surface of the connection structure 140 in a lowerportion, and may cover at least a portion of the passivation layer 150,as illustrated. However, in another embodiment, a lower end of the metallayer 190 may not be located at the same level as the lower surface ofthe passivation layer 150, but may be located at a higher level.Therefore, at least the portion of the passivation layer 150 may beexposed to the outside without being covered by the metal layer 190 onthe side surface of the package. According to embodiments, on the sidesurface of the package, not only the passivation layer 150 but also aportion of the connection structure 140 may be exposed to the outsidewithout being covered by the metal layer 190.

As described above, a deposition method such as sputtering may be mainlyused as an electromagnetic wave technology. However, in recent materialsused as frames and encapsulants, and the like, whose properties areimproved, an amount of a glass fiber and/or a ceramic filler is largetherein, and accordingly, etching of the material is not good.Therefore, when a metal layer for EMI shielding is formed by sputtering,or the like, it is difficult to secure a coverage of the metal layer onthe side surface of the package in which the glass fiber or the ceramicfiller is exposed, and adhesion may be deteriorated.

In addition, in the process in the related art, since the metal layerfor EMI shielding is formed after a singulation process, a singulatedunit package should be transferred to a separate adhesive tape forsputtering, and a condition should be optimized not to be deposited on alower surface to which the electrical connection metal is attached. Inaddition, in order to secure a sputtering coverage, an interval betweenunit packages should be set, and the unit package should be detachedfrom the adhesive tape again after the sputtering process, which maycomplicate the process.

On the other hand, the semiconductor package 100A according to anexample may form the side surface cover layer 180 and the metal layer190 while performing singulation in a plurality of steps, as describedwith reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C, such that the process may besimplified. In addition, since the metal layer 190 is formed on the sidesurface cover layer 180 after forming the side surface cover layer 180on the outer side surface of the package, the coverage and the adhesionof the metal layer 190 on the side surface of the package may be securedregardless of the material of the frame 110.

Hereinafter, each configuration included in the semiconductor package100A according to an example will be described in more detail.

The frame 110 may improve the rigidity of the semiconductor package 100Adepending on certain materials, and serve to secure uniformity ofthicknesses of the first and second encapsulants 130 a and 130 b, or thelike. The frame 110 may have a plurality of first through-holes 110HA1and 110HA2, and a second through-hole 110HB. Each of the first andsecond through-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2, and 110HB may be disposed to bephysically spaced apart from each other. The first through-holes 110HA1and 110HA2 may penetrate the frame 110, and passive components 125 a and125 b may be disposed in the first through-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2. Asillustrated in FIG. 10, the passive components 125 a and 125 b may bedisposed to be spaced apart from wall surfaces of the firstthrough-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2 by a predetermined distance, and may besurrounded by the wall surfaces of the first through-holes 110HA1 and110HA2, but is not limited thereto. The second through-hole 110HB maypenetrate the frame 110 and the first encapsulant 130 a, and asemiconductor chip 120 may be disposed in the second through-hole 110HB.The semiconductor chip 120 may be disposed to be spaced apart from awall surface of the second through-hole 110HB by a predetermineddistance, and may be surrounded by the wall surface of the secondthrough-hole 110HB. However, such a form is only an example and may bevariously modified to have other forms, and another function may beperformed depending on such a form. The frame 110 may be omitted ifnecessary, but the case having the frame 110 may be more advantageous insecuring the board level reliability as intended in the presentdisclosure.

The frame 110 may include a frame insulating layer 111 and a frame metallayer 115 surrounding the frame insulating layer 111. An insulatingmaterial may be used as the material of the frame insulating layer 111.In this case, the insulating material may be a thermosetting resin suchas an epoxy resin, a thermoplastic resin such as a polyimide resin, aninsulating material in which the thermosetting resin or thethermoplastic resin is impregnated together with an inorganic filler ina core material such as a glass fiber (or a glass cloth or a glassfabric), for example, prepreg, Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF), FR-4,Bismaleimide Triazine (BT), or the like. Such a frame 110 may serve as asupporting member.

The frame metal layer 115 may be disposed in an inner side wall of eachof the first through-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2 and the second through-hole110HB. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the frame metal layer 115 may surroundeach of the passive components 125 a and 125 b, and the semiconductorchip 120. The frame metal layer 115 may be introduced to improve anelectromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effect and a heatdissipation effect of the passive components 125 a and 125 b and thesemiconductor chip 120. The frame metal layer 115 may include aconductive material such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), tin(Sn), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), or alloysthereof. The frame metal layer 115 may be formed using a known platingprocess, and may be formed of a seed layer and a conductor layer. Theframe metal layer 115 may be used as a ground. In this case, the framemetal layer 115 may be electrically connected to a ground pattern layer142G of the connection structure 140.

The semiconductor chip 120 may be an integrated circuit (IC) provided inan amount of several hundred to several million or more elementsintegrated in a single chip. The IC may be, for example, a processorchip such as a central processor (for example, a central processing unit(CPU)), a graphics processor (for example, a graphics processing unit(GPU)), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signalprocessor, a cryptographic processor, a microprocessor, amicrocontroller, or the like, in detail, an application processor (AP).However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and thesemiconductor chip may be a logic chip such as an analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), orthe like, or a memory chip such as a volatile memory (for example, adynamic random access memory (DRAM)), a non-volatile memory (forexample, a read only memory (ROM)), a flash memory, or the like, but isnot limited thereto. Moreover, these chip related components are alsocombined.

In the semiconductor chip 120, a side, on which connection pad 122 isdisposed, is an active surface, and the opposite side is an inactivesurface. The semiconductor chip 120 may be formed on the basis of anactive wafer. In this case, a base material of a body 121 of thesemiconductor chip 120 may be silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), galliumarsenide (GaAs), or the like. Various circuits may be formed on the body121. The connection pads 122 may electrically connect the semiconductorchip 120 to other components. A material of each of the connection pads122 may be a conductive material such as aluminum (Al), or the like. Apassivation layer 123 exposing the connection pads 122 may be formed onthe body 121, and may be an oxide layer, a nitride layer, or the like,or a double layer of an oxide layer and a nitride layer.

Each of the passive components 125 a and 125 b may be a capacitor suchas a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) or a low inductance chipcapacitor (LICC), an inductor such as a power inductor, a bead, or thelike, independently. The passive components 125 a and 125 b may havedifferent sizes and thicknesses. Moreover, each of the passivecomponents 125 a and 125 b may have a thickness different from athickness of the semiconductor chip 120. In the semiconductor package100A according to an embodiment, the passive components 125 a and 125 band the semiconductor chip 120 are sealed in different processes, so aproblem of defects due to such thickness variations may be significantlyreduced. The number of the passive components 125 a and 125 b are notparticularly limited, and may be more or less than that illustrated inthe drawings.

Meanwhile, in one example, the passive components 125 a and 125 bdisposed in parallel with the semiconductor chip 120 may form acomponent built-in structure. The component built-in structure mayinclude the passive components 125 a and 125 b, the frame 110, the firstencapsulant 130 a, a first insulating layer 141 a, a firstredistribution layer 142 a, and a first via 143 a of the connectionstructure 140. According to embodiments, the frame 110 in the componentbuilt-in structure may be omitted, and in this case, the side surfacecover layer 180 and the metal layer 190 may be sequentially stacked onthe outer side surface of the first encapsulant 130 a.

The first encapsulant 130 a may fill at least portions of the firstthrough-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2, and may encapsulate one or more passivecomponents 125 a and 125 b. An encapsulation form is not particularlylimited, but may be a form in which the first encapsulant 130 asurrounds at least portions of the passive components 125 a and 125 b.The first encapsulant 130 a may cover at least portions of uppersurfaces of the passive components 125 a and 125 b, and may fill atleast a portion of a space between wall surfaces of the firstthrough-holes 110HA1 and 110HA2 and side surfaces of the plurality ofpassive components 125 a and 125 b. The first encapsulant 130 a mayextend to the frame 110 to be disposed on the frame 110, and may be incontact with an upper surface of the frame metal layer 115.

The second encapsulant 130 b may fill at least a portion of the secondthrough-hole 110HB, and may encapsulate the semiconductor chip 120. Anencapsulation form is not particularly limited, but may be a form inwhich the second encapsulant 130 b surrounds at least a portion of thesemiconductor chip 120. For example, the second encapsulant 130 b maycover at least portions of the frame 110 and an inactive surface of thesemiconductor chip 120, and may fill at least a portion of a spacebetween a wall surface of the second through-hole 110HB and a sidesurface of the semiconductor chip 120. Meanwhile, the second encapsulant130 b may fill the second through-hole 110HB to thus serve as anadhesive for fixing the semiconductor chip 120 and reduce buckling atthe same time, depending on certain materials. The second encapsulant130 b may be disposed in an upper portion of the semiconductor chip 120as described above, may extend to upper portions of the passivecomponents 125 a and 125 b and the frame 110, and may be disposed on thefirst encapsulant 130 a on the passive components 125 a and 125 b andthe frame 110. Thus, the first and second encapsulants 130 a and 130 bmay be stacked sequentially and disposed on the passive components 125 aand 125 b and the frame 110, and the second encapsulant 130 b may beonly disposed directly on the semiconductor chip 120 among thesemiconductor chip 120 and the passive components 125 a and 125 b.

The first and second encapsulants 130 a and 130 b may include aninsulating material. The insulating material may be a materialcontaining an inorganic filler and an insulating resin, for example, athermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, a thermoplastic resin suchas a polyimide, or a resin in which a reinforcement such as an inorganicfiller is contained in the thermosetting resin or the thermoplasticresin, in detail, an Ajinomoto build-up film (ABF), an FR-4 resin, abismaleimide triazine (BT) resin, a resin, or the like. Moreover, anepoxy molding compound (EMC), a photo imageable encapsulant (PIE), orthe like, may be used therefor. As needed, a material in which aninsulating resin such as the thermosetting resin or the thermoplasticresin is impregnated in an inorganic filler together with a corematerial such as a glass fiber, may be used. The first and secondencapsulants 130 a and 130 b may include the same or differentmaterials.

The connection structure 140 may redistribute the connection pads 122 ofthe semiconductor chip 120. Through the connection structure 140,several tens or several hundreds of connection pads 122 of thesemiconductor chip 120 having various a variety of functions may bedistributed, and may be physically and/or electrically externallyconnected through the electrical connection metal 170 depending onfunctions. The connection structure 140 may include a first insulatinglayer 141 a disposed on the frame 110 and the passive components 125 aand 125 b, a first redistribution layer 142 a disposed on the firstinsulating layer 141 a, a first via 143 a connecting the firstredistribution layer 142 a, the passive components 125 a and 125 b, andthe frame metal layer 115, a second insulating layer 141 b disposed onthe first insulating layer 141 a, a second redistribution layer 142 bdisposed on the second insulating layer 14 b, a second via 143 bconnecting the first and second redistribution layers 142 a and 142 b orconnecting the connection pad 122 of the semiconductor chip 120 and thesecond redistribution layer 142 b while penetrating the secondinsulating layer 141 b, a third insulating layer 141 c disposed on thesecond insulating layer 141 b, a third insulating layer 141 c disposedon the second insulating layer 141 b, a third redistribution layer 142 cdisposed on the third insulating layer 141 c, and a third via 143 cconnecting the second and third redistribution layers 142 b and 142 cwhile penetrating the third insulating layer 141 c. The firstredistribution layer 142 a may be electrically connected to the passivecomponents 125 a and 125 b, and the second and third redistributionlayers 142 b and 142 c may be electrically connected to the connectionpad 122 of the semiconductor chip 120 and the passive components 125 aand 125 b. The connection structure 140 may include the number ofinsulating layers, redistribution layers, and vias, greater thanillustrated in the drawings.

A material of each of the insulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c maybe an insulating material such as a PID resin may also be used as theinsulating material. That is, each of the insulating layers 141 a, 141b, and 141 c may be a photosensitive insulating layer. When theinsulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c have photosensitiveproperties, the insulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c may be formedto have a smaller thickness, and a fine pitch of each of the vias 143 a,143 b, and 143 c may be achieved more easily. Each of the insulatinglayers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c may be a photosensitive insulating layerincluding an insulating resin and an inorganic filler. When theinsulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c are multiple layers, materialsof the insulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c may be the same as eachother, and may also be different from each other, if necessary. When theinsulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c are multiple layers, theinsulating layers 141 a, 141 b, and 141 c may be integrated with eachother depending on processes, such that a boundary therebetween may notbe readily apparent. The number of insulating layers, greater than thoseillustrated in the drawings, may be provided.

The second and third redistribution layers 142 b and 142 c, among theredistribution layers 142 a, 142 b, and 142 c, may substantially serveto redistribute the connection pad 122, and a formation material thereofmay be a conductive material such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver(Ag), tin (Sn), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), oralloys thereof. The redistribution layers 142 a, 142 b, and 142 c mayperform various functions depending on designs of corresponding layers.For example, the redistribution layers may include ground (GND) patternlayers 142G, and may include power (PWR) patterns, signal (S) patterns,and the like. Particularly, at least a portion of the ground patternlayers 142G may be exposed through aside surface of the connectionstructure 140, and the exposed surface may be shielded by the metallayer 190. Here, the signal (S) patterns may include various signalsexcept for the ground (GND) signals, the power (PWR) signals, and thelike, such as data signals, and the like. In addition, theredistribution layers 142 a, 142 b, and 142 c may include via padpatterns, electrical connection metal pad patterns, and the like.

The vias 143 a, 143 b, and 143 c may electrically connect theredistribution layers 142 a, 142 b, and 142 c, the connection pad 122,the passive components 125 a and 125 b, and the like, formed ondifferent layers, to each other, resulting in an electrical path in thesemiconductor package 100A. A material of each of the vias 143 a, 143 b,and 143 c may be a conductive material such as copper (Cu), aluminum(Al), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), titanium(Ti), or alloys thereof. Each of the vias 143 a, 143 b, and 143 c may becompletely filled with a conductive material, or the conductive materialmay be formed along a wall of the vias. In addition, the vias 143 a, 143b, and 143 c may have all shapes known in the related art, such as atapered shape, a cylindrical shape, and the like.

The passivation layer 150 may protect the connection structure 140 fromexternal physical or chemical damage. The passivation layer 150 may havean opening exposing at least a portion of the third redistribution layer142 c of the connection structure 140. The number of openings, formed inthe passivation layer 150, may be several tens to several thousands. Amaterial of the passivation layer 150 is not particularly limited. Forexample, an insulating material may be used as the material of thepassivation layer 150. In this case, the insulating material may be athermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, a thermoplastic resin suchas a polyimide resin, a resin in which the thermosetting resin or thethermoplastic resin is mixed with an inorganic filler or is impregnatedtogether with an inorganic filler in a core material such as a glassfiber (or a glass cloth or a glass fabric), for example, prepreg, ABF,FR-4, BT, or the like. Alternatively, a solder resist may also be used.

The underbump metal layer 160 may improve connection reliability of theelectrical connection structure 170 to improve board level reliabilityof the semiconductor package 100A. The underbump metal layer 160 may beconnected to the third redistribution layer 142 c of the connectionstructure 140 exposed through the openings of the passivation layer 150.The underbump metal layer 160 may be formed in the openings of thepassivation layer 150 by any known metallization method using any knownconductive material such as metal, but is not limited thereto.

The electrical connection metal 170 may physically and/or electricallyconnect the semiconductor package 100A to an external power source. Forexample, the semiconductor package 100A may be mounted on the mainboardof the electronic device through the electrical connection metal 170.The electrical connection metal 170 may be formed of a conductivematerial, for example, a solder, or the like. However, this is only anexample, and a material of each of the electrical connection metal 170is not limited thereto. Each of the electrical connection metals 170 maybe a land, a ball, a pin, or the like. The electrical connection metals170 may be formed as a multilayer or single layer structure. When theelectrical connection metal 170 includes the plurality of layers, theelectrical connection metal includes a copper pillar and a solder. Whenthe electrical connection metal includes the single layer, theelectrical connection metal includes a tin-silver solder or copper.However, the electrical connection metal is only an example, and thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. The number, an interval, adisposition form, and the like, of the electrical connection metals 170are not particularly limited, but may be sufficiently modified dependingon design particulars by those skilled in the art. For example, theelectrical connection metals 170 may be provided in an amount of severaltens to several thousands, or may be provided in an amount of severaltens to several thousands or more or several tens to several thousandsor less.

At least one of the electrical connection metals 170 may be disposed ina fan-out region of the semiconductor chip 120. The fan-out region mayrefer to a region except for a region in which the semiconductor chip120 is disposed. The fan-out package may have excellent reliability ascompared to a fan-in package, may allow a plurality of input/output(I/O) terminals to be implemented, and may facilitate a 3Dinterconnection. In addition, as compared to a ball grid array (BGA)package, a land grid array (LGA) package, or the like, the fan-outpackage may be manufactured to have a small thickness, and may haveprice competitiveness.

The side surface cover layer 180 may cover the outer side surface of theframe 110, and may surround the outer side surface of the frame 110 inthe entire package, as illustrated in FIG. 10. An upper end of the sidesurface cover layer 180 may cover the outer side surface of the secondencapsulant 130 b, and a lower end of the side surface cover layer 180may cover a portion of the connection structure 140. The side surfacecover layer 180 may extend only to an upper portion above the groundpattern layer 142G so as not to cover the ground pattern layer 142G inthe connection structure 140. The side surface cover layer 180 mayinclude an insulating material, and a material including an insulatingresin may be used as the insulating material. Particularly, the sidesurface cover layer 180 may include a non-conductive adhesive, forexample, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silica. The side surface coverlayer 180 may include a different material from the first and secondencapsulants 130 a and 130 b, and thus, a boundary therebetween may bereadily apparent. For example, the side surface cover layer 180 may notcontain a glass fiber or a ceramic filler.

The metal layer 190 may be disposed outside of the package so as to forma portion of the upper surface and the side surface of the semiconductorpackage 100A. The metal layer 190 may cover an upper surface of thesecond encapsulant 130 b, cover side surfaces of the side surface coverlayer 180 and the connection structure 140, and may cover a portion ofthe passivation layer 150. Particularly, the metal layer 190 may coverthe ground pattern layer 142G of the connection structure 140. The metallayer 190 may expose a portion of the connection structure 140 and/or aportion of the passivation layer 150 in a lower portion below the groundpattern layer 142G. The metal layer 190 may include a metal materialsuch as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), gold (Au),nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), or alloys thereof.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof the semiconductor package.

Referring to FIG. 11, in a semiconductor package 100B according toanother example, an upper end of the side surface cover layer 180 maynot cover the second encapsulant 130 b, or may cover only a portion ofthe second encapsulant 130 b. According to embodiments, the side surfacecover layer 180 may cover only a portion of the first encapsulant 130 aon the frame 110. Such a structure may be determined by a height offilling a material forming the side surface cover layer 180 during amanufacturing process to be described below. In this case, the metallayer 190 may also form an inclined surface between the upper surfaceand the side surface at a corner of the package. In addition, the sidesurface cover layer 180 may have a curved upper end and a lower end, andthe metal layer 190 may also have a curvature at the lower end thereof.The metal layer 190 may further have a region extending horizontallyfrom the lower end to the outside of the package. Other configurationsare substantially the same as those described in the above-describedsemiconductor package 100A and the like, and a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 12A to 12C are schematic process drawings illustrating amanufacturing example of the semiconductor package of FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 12A, in a frame 110, first through-holes 110HA1 and110HA2 penetrating an upper surface and a lower surface of the frame 110are formed, passive components 125 a and 125 b are disposed, and thenencapsulated with the first encapsulant 130 a. Then, a portion of theconnection structure 140 is formed. A second through-hole 110HB isformed in the frame 110, a semiconductor chip 120 is disposed, and thenencapsulated with the second encapsulant 130 b. Then, the other portionof the connection structure 140, the passivation layer 150, and theunderbump metal layer 160 are formed in a lower portion thereof. Theseprocess steps may be performed simultaneously for a plurality of unitpackages (PA) by using a frame 110 of a large size so as to facilitatemass production. According to embodiments, the underbump metal layer 160may be formed at a later step. Next, a sawing process may be performedalong a singulation line by using a first sawing apparatus 210 at aboundary of the unit packages (PA), such that the frame 110, the firstand second encapsulants 130 a and 130 b, and the portion of theconnection structure 140 may be removed. The sawing process may beperformed at a depth such that the ground pattern layer 142G is notexposed by the sawing process. For example, sawing may proceed up to atleast a portion of a first insulating layer 141 a of the connectionstructure 140.

Referring to FIG. 12B, an insulating material is sprayed to a region inwhich the frame 110, the first and second encapsulants 130 a and 130 b,and the portion of the connection structure 140 are removed along asingulation line using a dispenser to fill a material of the sidesurface cover layer 180. Next, an electrical connection metal 170 may beformed on the underbump metal layer 160. A formation method of theelectrical connection metal 170 is not particularly limited, and may beformed by a known method well known in the art depending on itsstructure and form. The electrical connection metal 170 may be fixed byreflow, a portion of the electrical connection metal 170 may be embeddedin the passivation layer 150 in order to enhance a fixing power, and theother portion of the electrical connection metal 170 may be exposedoutwardly, such that the reliability may be improved. In some cases, theelectrical connection metal 170 may be also formed up to the underbumpmetal layer 160, and thereafter, a customer company may form anelectrical connection metal by a separate subsequent process, ifnecessary. Next, a sawing process may be performed along a singulationline using a second sawing apparatus 220 at a boundary of the unitpackages (PA), such that the portions of the side surface cover layer180, the connection structure 140, and the passivation layer 150 may beremoved. The sawing process may be performed to a lower portion belowthe ground pattern layer 142G such that the ground pattern layer 142G isexposed by the sawing process. The sawing process may process, forexample, to a portion of the connection structure 140 or to a portion ofthe passivation layer 150. The second sawing apparatus 220 may beperformed with a narrow width using a blade thinner than that of thefirst sawing apparatus 210. Therefore, the side surface cover layer 180may remain on the outer side surface of the frame 110 at the boundary ofthe unit packages (PA).

Referring to FIG. 12C, a metal layer 190 may be deposited by sputteringor spraying. The metal layer 190 may not be formed on a lower surface towhich the electrical connection metal 170 is attached, since the metalmaterial is transferred and deposited from an upper portion thereof. Themetal layer 190 may cover an upper surface of the second encapsulant 130b, cover portions or all of a side surface of the connection structure140 including the side surface cover layer 180 and the ground patternlayer 142G on the side surface, and may also cover a portion of thepassivation layer 150. Next, a sawing process may be performed along asingulation line using a third sawing apparatus 230 at a boundary of theunit packages (PA), such that the packages may be completely separatedinto individual packages as illustrated in FIG. 9. Therefore, the sidesurface of the passivation layer 150 which have been connected in theprevious steps or the side surfaces of the connection structure 140 andthe passivation layer 150 may be exposed.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof a semiconductor package.

Referring to FIG. 13, in a semiconductor package 100C according toanother example, a frame 110 may include a first frame insulating layer111 a in contact with a connection structure 140, a first wiring layer112 a in contact with the connection structure 140 and embedded in thefirst frame insulating layer 111 a, a second wiring layer 112 b disposedon a side opposing the side in which the first wiring layer 112 a of thefirst frame insulating layer 111 a is embedded, a second frameinsulating layer 111 b disposed on the first frame insulating layer 111a and covering the second wiring layer 112 b, a third wiring layer 112 cdisposed on the second frame insulating layer 111 b, and a frame metallayer 115. The first to third wiring layers 112 a, 112 b, and 112 c maybe electrically connected to the connection pad 122 of the semiconductorchip 120 and the passive components 125 a and 125 b. The first wiringlayer 112 a and the second wiring layer 112 b, as well as the secondwiring layer 112 b and the third wiring layer 112 c may be electricallyconnected to each other through the first frame via 113 a and the secondframe via 113 b, passing through the first frame insulating layer 111 aand the second frame insulating layer 111 b, respectively.

The first wiring layer 112 a may be recessed inwardly of the first frameinsulating layer 111 a. As described above, when the first wiring layer112 a is recessed inwardly of the first frame insulating layer 111 a anda step is provided between a lower surface of the first frame insulatinglayer 111 a and a lower surface of the first wiring layer 112 a, thefirst wiring layer 112 a may be prevented from being contaminated bybleeding of a formation material of the first encapsulant 130 a. Athickness of each of the wiring layers 112 a, 112 b, and 112 c of theframe 110 may be greater than that of each of the redistribution layers142 a, 142 b, and 142 c of the connection structure 140.

When a hole for the first frame via 113 a is formed, some pads of thefirst wiring layer 112 a may serve as a stopper. In this regard, it maybe advantageous in a process in that the first frame via 113 a has atapered shape in which a width of an upper surface is greater than awidth of a lower surface. In this case, the first frame via 113 a may beintegrated with a pad pattern of the second wiring layer 112 b. Inaddition, when a hole for the second frame via 113 b is formed, somepads of the second wiring layer 112 b may serve as a stopper. In thisregard, it may be advantageous in a process in that the second frame via113 b has a tapered shape in which a width of an upper surface isgreater than a width of a lower surface. In this case, the second framevia 113 b may be integrated with a pad pattern of the third wiring layer112 c.

Other configurations, for example, the contents of the side surfacecover layer 180 and the metal layer 190 described with reference to FIG.9 or FIG. 11, and the like, may also be applied to the semiconductorpackage 100C according to another example, and a detailed descriptionwill be omitted as it is substantially the same as those described inthe above-described packages 100A and 100B, and the like. However, inthe present embodiment, the metal layer 190 may be opened in apredetermined region to connect the wiring layer 112 c of the frame 110to a solder, or the like, disposed on the upper portion.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another exampleof a semiconductor package.

Referring to FIG. 14, in a semiconductor package 100D according toanother example, a frame 110 may include a first frame insulating layer111 a, a first wiring layer 112 a and a second wiring layer 112 bdisposed on both sides of the first frame insulating layer 111 a, asecond frame insulating layer 111 b disposed on the first frameinsulating layer 111 a and covering the first wiring layer 112 a, athird redistribution layer 112 c disposed on the second frame insulatinglayer 111 b, a third frame insulating layer 111 c disposed on the firstframe insulating layer 111 a and covering the second wiring layer 112 b,and a fourth wiring layer 112 d disposed on the third frame insulatinglayer 111 c. The first to fourth wiring layers 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, and112 d may be electrically connected to connection pads 122. Since theframe 110 includes a further large number of wiring layers 112 a, 112 b,112 c, and 112 d, the connection structure 140 may be furthersimplified. Therefore, a decrease in a yield depending on a defectoccurring in a process of forming the connection structure 140 may beimproved. Meanwhile, the first to fourth wiring layers 112 a, 112 b, 112c, and 112 d may be electrically connected to each other through thefirst to third frame vias 113 a, 113 b, and 113 c penetrating the firstto third frame insulating layers 111 a, 111 b, and 111 c, respectively.

The frame insulating layer 111 a may have a thickness greater than thoseof the second frame insulating layer 111 b and the third frameinsulating layer 111 c. The first frame insulating layer 111 a may bebasically relatively thick in order to maintain rigidity, the secondframe insulating layer 111 b and the third frame insulating layer 111 cmay be introduced in order to form a larger number of wiring layers 112c and 112 d. The first frame insulating layer 111 a may include aninsulating material different from those of the second frame insulatinglayer 111 b and the third frame insulating layer 111 c. For example, thefirst frame insulating layer 111 a may be, for example, prepregincluding a core material, a filler, and an insulating resin, and thesecond insulating layer 111 b and the third insulating layer 111 c maybe an ABF film or a PID film including a filler and an insulating resin.Similarly, the first frame via 113 a penetrating the first frameinsulating layer 111 a may have a diameter greater than those of thesecond and third frame vias 113 b and 113 c passing through the secondand third frame insulating layers 111 b and 111 c, respectively. Athickness of each of the wiring layers 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, and 112 d ofthe frame 110 may be greater than that of each of the redistributionlayers 142 a, 142 b, and 142 c of the connection structure 140.

Other configurations, for example, the contents of the side surfacecover layer 180 and the metal layer 190 described with reference to FIG.9 or FIG. 11, and the like, may also be applied to the semiconductorpackage 100D according to another example, and a detailed descriptionwill be omitted as it is substantially the same as those described inthe above-described packages 100A and 100B, and the like. However, inthe present embodiment, the metal layer 190 may be opened in apredetermined region in order to connect the wiring layer 112 d of theframe 110 to the solder disposed on the upper portion, or the like.

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view illustrating an effect in a case inwhich the semiconductor package according to the disclosure is appliedto an electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 15, recently, as a size of display for mobile devices1100A and 1100B increases, the necessity of increasing battery capacityis increasing. As the battery capacity increases, an area occupied bythe battery 1180 increases. In this regard, a size of a printed circuitboard 1101 such as a mainboard is required to be reduced. Thus, due to areduction in a mounting area of a component, an area occupied by amodule 1150 including a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) andpassive components is gradually decreased. In this case, when thesemiconductor packages 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D according to anembodiment is applied to the module 1150, a size is able to besignificantly reduced. Thus, the area, which becomes smaller asdescribed, above may be effectively used.

As set forth above, according to an embodiment in the presentdisclosure, a semiconductor package with improved lateral shieldingperformance may be provided.

While the exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor package, comprising: a framehaving a first through-hole; a semiconductor chip disposed in the firstthrough-hole of the frame, and having an active surface on which aconnection pad is disposed and an inactive surface disposed opposing theactive surface; a first encapsulant covering at least a portion of eachof the inactive surface and aside surface of the semiconductor chip; aconnection structure disposed on the active surface of the semiconductorchip, and including a redistribution layer electrically connected to theconnection pad of the semiconductor chip and a ground pattern layer; aside surface cover layer covering at least an outer side surface of theframe at a periphery of the frame; and a metal layer disposed on anupper surface of the first encapsulant, and extending downwardly fromthe upper surface of the first encapsulant along the side surface coverlayer to cover the side surface cover layer and a portion of the sidesurface of the connection structure.
 2. The semiconductor package ofclaim 1, wherein the side surface cover layer extends from the outerside surface of the frame to an upper portion above the ground patternlayer of the connection structure.
 3. The semiconductor package of claim2, wherein an outer side surface of the ground pattern layer is coveredwith the metal layer.
 4. The semiconductor package of claim 1, furthercomprising: a passivation layer disposed on the connection structure,and wherein a lower end of the metal layer is located at a level higherthan a lower surface of the passivation layer.
 5. The semiconductorpackage of claim 1, wherein the side surface cover layer and the firstencapsulant are made of different materials.
 6. The semiconductorpackage of claim 1, wherein the side surface cover layer includes anon-conductive adhesive.
 7. The semiconductor package of claim 1,wherein the side surface cover layer covers at least a portion of anouter side surface of the first encapsulant.
 8. The semiconductorpackage of claim 1, wherein the frame further has a second through-hole,and further comprises one or more passive components disposed in thesecond through-hole of the frame.
 9. The semiconductor package of claim8, further comprising: a second encapsulant covering at least portionsof each of an upper surface and a side surface of the passive component,and wherein the first encapsulant covers at least a portion of thesecond encapsulant.
 10. The semiconductor package of claim 9, whereinthe side surface cover layer covers an outer side surface of the secondencapsulant.
 11. The semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein at leasta portion of a side surface of the first encapsulant is exposed from theside surface cover layer.
 12. The semiconductor package of claim 11,wherein the metal layer has an inclined surface between an upper surfaceof the metal layer disposed on the upper surface of the firstencapsulant and a side surface of the metal layer disposed on the sidesurface cover layer.
 13. The semiconductor package of claim 1, whereinthe frame includes a first frame insulating layer, a first wiring layerin contact with the connection structure and embedded in the first frameinsulating layer, and a second wiring layer disposed on an opposite sidein which the first wiring layer of the first frame insulating layer isembedded, and the first and second wiring layers are electricallyconnected to the connection pad.
 14. The semiconductor package of claim13, wherein the frame further comprises a second frame insulating layerdisposed on the first frame insulating layer and covering the secondwiring layer, and a third wiring layer disposed on the second frameinsulating layer, and the third wiring layer is electrically connectedto the connection pad.
 15. The semiconductor package of claim 1, whereinthe frame includes a first frame insulating layer, and a first wiringlayer and a second wiring layer disposed on both sides of the firstframe insulating layer, and the first and second wiring layers areelectrically connected to the connection pad.
 16. The semiconductorpackage of claim 15, wherein the frame further comprises a second frameinsulating layer disposed on the first frame insulating layer andcovering the first wiring layer and a third wiring layer disposed on thesecond frame insulating layer, and the third layer is electricallyconnected to the connection pad.
 17. The semiconductor package of claim1, wherein the frame includes a glass fiber or a ceramic filler incontact with the side surface cover layer.
 18. A semiconductor package,comprising: a semiconductor chip having an active surface on which aconnection pad is disposed and an inactive surface opposing the activesurface; a first encapsulant encapsulating at least a portion of each ofthe inactive surface and a side surface of the semiconductor chip; aconnection structure disposed on the active surface of the semiconductorchip, and including a redistribution layer electrically connected to theconnection pad of the semiconductor chip and a ground pattern layer; acomponent built-in structure disposed on the connection structure andsurrounding the semiconductor chip and having at least one passivecomponent embedded therein; a side surface cover layer covering at leasta portion of an outer side surface of the component built-in structureat a periphery of the component built-in structure; and a metal layerdisposed on an upper surface of the first encapsulant, and extendingdownwardly from the upper surface of the first encapsulant along theside surface cover layer to cover a portion of a side surface of theconnection structure.
 19. The semiconductor package of claim 18, whereinthe component built-in structure includes the at least one passivecomponent, a second encapsulant encapsulating the passive component, anda wiring layer disposed on a lower side of the passive component andelectrically connected to the passive component, and the wiring layer iselectrically connected to the connection pad through the redistributionlayer.
 20. The semiconductor package of claim 18, wherein the sidesurface cover layer includes a non-conductive adhesive.